. Seyed Ahmad Bathaei; . Hasan Abolghasem‑Gorji; . Bahram Delgoshaei; . Hamid Reza Khankeh
Volume 9, Issue 1 , January 2019, , Pages 1-9
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Disasters are inescapable phenomena. Once they occur, reliable and objectiveinformation becomes vital in sound decision‑making to respond. Emergency health evaluation ...
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INTRODUCTION: Disasters are inescapable phenomena. Once they occur, reliable and objectiveinformation becomes vital in sound decision‑making to respond. Emergency health evaluation ofaffected population can be used to gather information about the patterns of access to medical care,basic household needs, and other health needs. The objective of this review was to summarizeevidence from scientific studies on the various methods of emergency health evaluation followingdisasters.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive list of studies was provided in May 2017 by anextensive search using PubMed, Web of Sciences, Ovid Medline, ProQuest Research Library, andWorld Health Organization Library.RESULTS: Of the 1592 retrieved articles, 21 articles were included in this review. In a majority of thestudies (n = 18), a questionnaire was used and an interview was conducted to collect information,but in three studies, smartphone‑based methods were used. Sampling method in most of the studieswas cluster sampling in Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response method. Butin eight studies, random sampling method was used. In a majority of the studies, the demographicstatus of samples and in 18 studies, the condition of diseases, water, shelters, health, food, mortalityrate, and existing medical services were investigated.CONCLUSIONS: Although new methods such as social media and smartphones were alreadyinvestigated in some articles, but these approaches require further investigation since there is agrowing need for new methods.
